Super Chariot Review

If you're looking for your next local cooperative multiplayer obsession then here's a game for you. The question is: do you and a friend have what it takes to push your deceased dad's remains to a luxurious grave?

Dads don't need to be alive to be fun

Super Chariot is a re-release of the 2014 game Chariot where you must find a suitable resting place for your dead king father. You and a friend play as the king's daughter (the princess) and her fiancé and it's your goal to push and pull him around the intricate 2D environments as you search for a tomb worthy of his Excellency. It's a morbid premise for a game but the sense of humour as seen in the ghost king's demanding attitude and your skeleton friend's laidback vibe is superb. When you combine this with the adorable character art, you're left with one charming 2D adventure. The little chubby chums are so cute and expressive. You can even slap high fives which serves no purpose other than to make you smile. On top of all this, the audio is phenomenal with moody atmospheric soundscapes and spot-on effects that make every onscreen event satisfying.

You play Super Chariot by attaching a grappling rope to the king's coffin in order to pull it through stages. The coffin rests on large wheels so it can flip and move in all sorts of ways without worry. The challenge comes in the form of tricky situations that usually require a great deal of skill to overcome. For example, having to leap between thin platforms while not letting the coffin fall into the abyss below or jumping on trampolines in order to reach high up cliffs. There's a ton of variety and the stages are brilliantly designed, too. One aspect is that green platforms allow the couple to walk on them but the chariot falls through while blue platforms have the opposite effect. Having to carefully guide the chariot up a blue ramp as you and your friend gradually hop up green platforms is incredibly challenging but once you make it to the top, the sense of satisfaction is unmatched. It's rewarding stuff that makes working together a lot of fun.

Dude, we just travelled for hours...

As you traverse the massive stages, you can optionally seek out hidden and hard-to-reach treasures. Doing so can be intensely difficult as some scenarios are nearly impossible to master. Considering this is a co-op focused game, accomplishing these feats requires both players to be on top of their game and ready to put their skills to the test. There's nothing more frustrating than almost making it past a seemingly impossible situation only to slip up and have to start all over again. This goes for mandatory tasks, too. Anyway, I should mention that you can play Super Chariot solo but doing so would frankly be silly. It's built for cooperative play and that's where it shines brightest so if you're a lone wolf then you probably should pass up on partaking in this delightful 2D adventure.

I've already touched upon how difficult Super Chariot is and I really can't stress that enough. It's a steep challenge to even make it to the halfway point and after that, things become absolutely brutal. If you've read my reviews before then you probably know how much I love challenging games but this is one that can be downright infuriating. If you and a friend are masochists then you'll surely love every second of Super Chariot but if you just want a casual cooperative adventure then you'll be surprised by how truly difficult it is.

Finally, I should mention that Super Chariot is merely a re-release of the 2014 game simply called Chariot. I compared both games side-by-side since I now own it on PlayStation 4 and Switch and I can't see any differences. Of course, if you know of any differences then I'd greatly appreciate if you could leave a comment below. For now, I'm almost certain that it's the exact same game with the only addition being that this includes the Royal Gadget Pack which is only a couple of bucks on other consoles.

This isn't quite the honeymoon that I had in mind but it'll do!

Super Chariot is one of the most engaging and challenging cooperative 2D games ever created. Its tight and varied gameplay combines with its massive and rewarding stages and adorable presentation to craft one unforgettable adventure.

+ Perfectly engaging cooperative gameplay

+ Huge stages with tons of variety and super-rewarding secrets to uncover

+ Adorable visuals and great audio

- Difficulty becomes brutally frustrating about halfway through the campaign

- Probably not worth purchasing if you already own Chariot on another console